


At Least It's Not Cancer

by Tophis1



Category: Ed Edd n Eddy
Genre: Bullying, Gen, Highschool Drama, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Misuse of Science, Shrinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-12
Updated: 2013-11-04
Packaged: 2017-12-23 05:14:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/922414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tophis1/pseuds/Tophis1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The usual 'Kevin and Edd are lab partners and hating it' story. Edd has an idea for the Science Fair to shrink cancer cells so they can be easily destroyed. But when Kevin accidentally spills it on Double D, they realize that their calculations were a bit off, meaning that ALL the cells would shrink. The story will most likely be friendship, but could end in a relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Typical Tuesday

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter is short and only gives an idea of what's going on. The shrinking will happen soon, so you could just skip this.

Obviously, this was destined to end in disaster. How could Edd possibly work with an inconsiderate bully like Kevin for a very important science project? This Science Fair would count for a third of his grade! Surely Kevin would destroy all of his precious work, or not do his share, all to see Edd squirm with shame when he would be given an unsatisfactory grade.  
Edd continued to ramble in his mind of how awful this experience would be as Kevin dropped his school bag onto the table. With a huff of annoyance (for Kevin was not happy with this placement either) the jock fell back into a metal chair, propping a leg against the lab table so he could lean back in an aloof manner.  
Kevin finally took notice of the strained silence between them when the other groups began chatting amiably around the room. He held back a sneer, hating that he would be so unhappy with his partner when everyone else seemed to like theirs. " So, Double Dork, you got a plan or what?"  
Edd moved his gaze from the two chair legs still on the ground to Kevin's face. "Why yes. I do believe that I have a... an idea of... what we... would you please desist? At the angle you are currently balancing, your seat is destined to-"  
"Aagch!" Kevin took his foot off the table, landing with a loud and vibrating BING that grabbed the classes attention. Edd yelped, leaning back as the other boys face grew closer to his. "Listen up, Nerd." He growled. "Just because we're stuck together doesn't mean I'm gonna listen to you or do any of the work or any of that crap. You-" Here, he jabbed a harsh finger into Eddwards chest. "will do the project, since I'm sure you're absolutely wetting yourself thinking about getting a bad grade." A few of the boys in the room snickered at this and made Edd uncomfortably aware of the attention they were getting. "I don't want to have to look at your ugly mug longer than necessary, got it? Just let me sign my name at the bottom and I won't pound your face in after class."  
There was a deep tint of humiliation splashed across the boys cheeks, but he didn't nod along. Instead, he gently took the hand trying to skewer him and looked Kevin in the eye. "I do not wish to cause more of a spectacle than you have managed, but you must understand that your plan has many flaws. First off, you will listen to my input, since I am half of this team and it is most likely my idea that we will be using. Secondly, I am not the only one who is fearful of failing. I'm sure your coach would be dismayed to learn that his star quarterback will be cut for an insufficient grade point average." He took a deep breath, then let it out, hoping the ginger didn't notice it was shaky. "Lastly, you will be meeting with me for as long as necessary until we finish the project. Why don't we get it done as quickly as possible, then part ways once the semester is over?"  
Most everyone in the room was quietly watching the exchange, which made Kevin angry. There were only two ways to go about this, give in or establish his leadership once again.  
Plan B hadn't failed him so far. In a fluid motion, Kevin stood, looked over to the sleeping teacher, then grabbed Edd by the collar and hoisted him onto the table, rubbing his childish cheeks harshly into his notebook.  
"Get started, Dork."  
Once Edd was released, he sunk back into his chair, massaging his abused cheek and sulkily began writing. Now that the drama was done, the other students turned back to their own tables and the chatter started once again.  
Kevin refused to feel bad as he watched the slender boy scrawl in his notebook, making no sound or acknowledgement to his partner. With a sigh, he sat back once again, crossing his arms and leaning precariously with his foot against the table.


	2. Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots of talking. Character building. Then interesting stuff

Edd was feeling a little empowered after his encounter with Kevin. The all consuming triumph of having faced his childhood bully carried with him till the end of the day where he quickly realized that he had nothing to feel good about. He still had to worry about the project, still had to carry his own weight while simultaneously watching Kevin's workings and participation on a daily basis, and still had to hold his guard up when in his company. While it had felt like quite the rush to say those things earlier that day, he wasn't so sure he could hold true when he was faced with the option of a very real beating.   
To be on the safe side, Edd hurried home so as to avoid contact with Kevin. He knew the boy had a motorcycle (the darn thing had woken him enough times in the middle of a school night!) so he darted between houses, as he had learned to do as a child when he was avoiding bullies. But back then, he'd had Ed and Eddy to encourage him along. Now, as he jogged at a pathetic pace and gasped for breath, he wished they were by his side again.   
Once he rounded the corner to the cul-de-sack, he took a look at Kevins yard, noting that the motorcycle was, miraculously, not present. Edd thanked his lucky stars as he bolted the last small distance to his own abode, jangling the keys and turning the lock with only a flick of the wrist; well versed in how to quickly escape into his sanctuary.   
Edd breathed a sigh of relief as he slid with his back against the door until he was resting on the tiled floor. His hands were shaking, which hadn't happened in a very long time. Not since he'd been chased through the parking lot by the football team. Edd gave a huff of laughter. It wasn't as if Kevin was as bad as the entire team. He honestly couldn't understand what had him so worked up. So what he had to work with a class A jerk, who also happened to have am entire brute-squad at his disposal? He could probably get out of this with minimal scarring.   
'No. No, Edd.' He thought, clenching his fists until they were no longer shaking. 'You can do this. He may hurt you, but you need to stop living in the shadows. This is no way to continue existing. As soon as he gets home, you must make sure he understands that you were not bluffing.' Edd stood, making his way over to the torn-up couch where he could sit and wait for his partner to arrive.  
\-------  
He wasn't really sure what you called it, but Kevin was having one of those I-feel-torn-up-inside-but-I-don't-know-why-except-I-do-know-why-and-I-just-don't-want-to-acknowledge-it moments that made his head hurt. Yeah, he had been an unreasonable ass towards that nerd (and he'd been doing really well at not being quite so mean to dweebs in the past week or so) but he also knew that he couldn't just let Double Dork get away with it. He had a reputation and he also maybe felt that the kid was stepping out of line. Augh. Whatever. He was just gonna take his bike for a spin, let his mind go blank for a little while, and go home and do some push ups or something.   
It wasn't until he looked at the gas gauge, nearly two hours later, that he realized that he'd let his mind drift a little too far. Reluctantly, he headed home, pushing his bike into the driveway just as the sun was starting to sink below the treeline. He winced internally as he made his way to the door, remembering that he still had history homework and his parents didn't like him to stay out this late. He was about to grab the handle, shuffle in with a loose excuse for his lateness, then sit down to eat and maybe watch football with his dad, when all of a sudden there was a hand on his shoulder.   
Before he even thought to stop himself, he had the hand in a punishing wrist hold, the slightest pressure away from serious damage. Now that he was turned around, he could see his 'attacker' was none other that the Dweeb he'd been trying so hard not to think about. And he looked like he was in pain.  
"Crap." Kevin released him, taking a step back and rubbing his neck. "What were you doing, stupid?"  
"Uch. I hardly believe that I am the intellectually inept one in this conversation, Kevin." Edd rotated his wrist and looked back up at him. "I came over to talk to you about our project. I think that, if we spend two days a week working after school on it, we should-"  
"Stop talking." Kevin ordered, surprising Edd enough to comply. Kevin was sneering, which made Edd lose most of his resolve. "I've already told you I don't want to do any of the work."  
"And I responded by saying that you will!" Edd jutted out his jaw in a rather primitive show of defiance and authority. "Your future career depends on this, Kevin! I do not care what you think of me, but I will not be cowed every time you shake your fist at me!"  
"Whoa." Kevin held up his hands, looking around to make sure none of the other cul-de-sack kids took notice of his shouting. "Just... get inside. You're causing a scene."  
Edd resisted the urge to do the same and look around. "Then perhaps you'll listen to me."  
Kevin made an ugly noise of distaste as he rolled his eyes. "Fine. You want me to hang at your place? Tomorrow, after school. But ONLY for an hour."  
Edd smiled, despite Kevins obvious anger. "Perfect. See you then, partner." He turned and made his way back to his own home.   
"Lonely little faggot." Kevin muttered before walking inside. Edd tried hard to not let his smile falter in the wake of such hurtful words.  
\-----------  
Kevin was bored out of his mind before he'd even gotten through ten minutes of science with Double D. The nerd was muttering away to himself, making little notes and calculations that boggled Kevin even before he saw them clearly. For about the fifth time that day, he rolled his eyes and looked around at the other groups. They were all cheerfully drawing out their plans, chatting together and laughing and such. Kevin looked back at his partner, scoffing at how he was hunched over the paper, scribbling nonsense and being all stupidly smart and gangly and nerdy. He hated this.  
"Kevin." Edd looked up. "Would you mind filling out these calculations while I finish the hypothesis?" He slipped the papers over, as well as a calculator. Kevin grabbed his pencil, huffing dramatically as he began looking over the many numbers scrunched together.   
Double D hid his smile, hoping that, by extending a few olive branches, Kevin would resent his partnership a little less. The smile was quickly gone when Kevin pushed the paper back over, not caring that he was still writing on the pages it now covered.   
"There. Happy?"   
"Indeed." Edd replied, looking over each calculation carefully. "Very happy. These all seem to be correct." He let a new smile spread across his face, exposing his gapped teeth. "You were done more quickly than expected."  
Kevin flushed a little, looking away with a pout. "I'm not dumb."  
"If you were I wouldn't have asked you to help me." Edd pulled out the paper he was working on to the top of the stack. "I know you have the ability, just not the ambition."  
Once Edd went back to writing, Kevin resumed looking him over with a more calculating stare. After a few moments, he pulled his chair closer, peeking at the tiny handwriting. "So, uh, what are we working on?"  
Edd merely pointed to the top of the page where, in neater handwriting, he had printed 'Cancer Shrinking Serum'.  
\--------  
After a week of working together in class and an hour after school every Monday, so as not to interfere with sports, Edd had announced that they were finally ready to make the serum. He already had the ingredients gathered at his house (which he was not going to question at all). All that was left was applying the right amounts and testing it.  
Kevin slung his bag haphazardly on the couch as he made his way to the kitchen. Double D already had a pair of gloves and goggles on, which lead Kevin to believe he should put on the set hanging on a chair.   
"There you are. I need you to record the amounts added as I read them out, then the reaction of the liquid. I need you to be as descriptive as possible, Kevin. Leave nothing out." He was wringing his hands nervously as he paced the length of the counter. "Oooh, I've waited my whole life to accomplish something as monumental as this! I'm so excited!" He looked over to Kevin with a giddy, but worried, smile. "....are you ready?"  
"Lets get this over with." Kevin shrugged casually, even though he too was deeply excited. He'd never been a part of something this science-y before. It made him feel like a nerd. But...in a good way.   
Edd began listing the ingredients as he slowly mixed them together, using multiple eye-droppers and tweezers to carefully balance the amounts, checking over the calculations occasionally that they had made that first day in class. Kevin was dutifully writing it all down, noting each fiz, pop, or color change on the paper. After what seemed forever, Edd finally announced that it was done.   
"Oh God. I-I'm shaking." Edd laughed. "I-if this works, who knows what could happen to us!" He positively beamed at the jock, making him smile back. "We still need to test it, of course, but we'll have to wait at least an hour for it to settle before we can use it."  
Kevin shrugged and headed to the livingroom, flipping on the TV. "Then lets relax, dork." Not giving it much thought, he patted the spot next to him. "Stop acting like such a girl."   
Edd decided not to let the insults stick and merely took his spot next to his partner. After flipping through all the channels, bickering over the 'intellectual stimulation', and slapping a few hands, they finally decided on a show about the making of plastic. It was obscure enough to hold their interest for the time being.   
Once the hour was up, Edd was back to his jittery self. For the safety of the project, Kevin decided that he'd be the one to apply the serum, since Edd had a high chance of dropping it or adding too much.   
At the dining room table was a microscope with a small stack of glass containers. Kevin set the mixture down, following Edd's instructions as he told him how to place a slide onto the microscope, fill a syringe-like device with the solution, and then insert the rubbery, hose end of the syringe into a hole in the container, then release only a few drops at a time into the cancer colony.   
Kevin was never as nervous until now to be dealing with all this. He guess he trusted the dork not to get them cancer, so the containers had to be safe, but this whole process seemed sketchy. He was trying reeeaaally hard to remind himself that he was NOT going to ask where all this came from.   
"Is anything happening?" Edd asked, looking at the microscope as if it would help him.   
Kevin shook his head minutely as he kept an eye on the cells. "Let me just add a couple more drops-"  
"Kevin, don't waste-"  
In a surprising show of strength, Edd pushed Kevin away from the microscope, causing him to squirt the rest of the serum from the syringe into the air, most of which sprayed directly into Double D's face. He coughed and wiped it away, noticing the quick way it absorbed into his skin. He took a second to be fascinated by this reaction before twisting his head to look over at Kevin, who was looking at him with the same murderous glare.   
"What the heck was that for?!"  
"You wasted it all!"  
"You shoved me!"  
"It had little force behind it! You overreacted!" He quickly rushed into the bathroom. "I must wash this off me at once!"  
Kevin calmly leaned on the door frame, still looking rather miffed. "So now what do we do?"  
Edd continued scrubbing his face, pausing only a moment to answer. "We still have enough supplies to make one batch, but-" He rubbed his face into a nearby towel. "We'll have to look over the calculations again. Something must have gone wrong if it isn't reacting."  
"Or maybe this was just a dumb project idea." Kevin spat. "Who goes this big on just a science fair project? This is stupid. We should pick something else while we can."  
"It's not stupid, Kevin. We're nearly done. It just needs some modifications! Perhaps one of us misread the maths..."   
Kevin rolled his eyes, shoving off the door frame to grab his bag from the livingroom. "Whatever, dweeb. I'm outa here. I did my part."  
"No, wait-"  
SLAM  
Edd bit his tongue, looking back into the kitchen sadly. "Why didn't it work?" He moaned, scooping up the papers to go over them again. They all fluttered to the floor seconds later as Edd's world shifted and went black.


End file.
